Etymograph

English

foliolate

Foliolate comes from Latin foliolum ‘leaflet’, from folium ‘leaf’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘blossom, flower’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-1‘blossom, flower’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰolh₃yom1‘leaf’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfolium2‘leaf’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliolum2‘leaflet’diminutive of folium
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900foliolātus2
  6. Englishtodayfoliolate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin folium
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English foliolate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-Wiktionary, Latin folium‘blossom, flower’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰolh₃yomWiktionary, Latin folium‘leaf’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliumWiktionary, English foliolate‘leaf’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliolumWiktionary, English foliolate‘leaflet’diminutive of folium
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900foliolātusWiktionary, English foliolate
  6. EnglishtodayfoliolateWiktionary, English foliolate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘blossom, flower’

full, blood, blow, flower, bless, blade, bloom, fool, floral, bleed, flora, blossom, flourish, ferret, florist, fleur, flor, belladonna, 54 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰolh₃yom ‘leaf’

folly, trefoil, 16 more

through Latin folium ‘leaf’

foil, folic, exfoliation, exfoliate, 21 more

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to leaflets of a plant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “foliolate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin folium. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- / foliolate

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